Speaker of the House John Boehner spoke to the press on Thursday, at the House Republican Issue Conference in Cambridge, Maryland. Photo by Jim Watson AFP/Getty Images.

House Republican leaders Thursday unveiled their long-awaited list of immigration reform principles, outlining a step-by-step approach that includes several border security provisions, but also provides the opportunity for undocumented immigrants currently living in the country to obtain legal status.

The document touched off a fresh round of debate within the GOP about the political consequences of taking the issue up at this time, while congressional Democrats and supporters of overhauling the system expressed guarded optimism.

House Speaker John Boehner said he believed now was the time to act. “It’s been turned into a political football. I think it’s unfair. So I think it’s time to deal with it, but how we deal with it is going to be critically important,” the Ohio Republican told reporters at a press conference on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where his members had gathered for their annual retreat.

Boehner added that a comprehensive plan like the one passed by the Senate last June would not sell with the American people, who’ve soured on Washington’s ability to enact sweeping legislation.

“It’s one thing to pass a law. It’s another thing to have the confidence of the American people behind that law as you’re passing it,” Boehner said. “That’s why doing immigration reform in a common-sense, step-by-step manner helps our members understand the bite-sized pieces. It helps our constituents build more confidence that what we’re doing makes sense.”

At the private meeting where the proposal was unveiled, lawmakers talked about their distrust that President Barack Obama will enforce the law, according to sources inside of the room. Ryan and Boehner spoke in favor of the effort, but high-profile conservatives like Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) were more suspect of the reform push.

“Nobody, even those who want to get this done, trusts the president,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said in a phone interview Thursday evening. “And I understand it, because I don’t either.”

Beyond the general distrust of the president by many House Republicans, GOP leaders also were likely to confront concerns about granting legal status to people who broke the law when they entered the country. Iowa Rep. Steve King, a staunch opponent of immigration reform, tweeted that members were having an “intense debate” over the standards along with the hashtag “NoAmnesty.”

The document from House GOP leaders rejects a “special path to citizenship” for most undocumented immigrants, but does make an exception for children brought to the country “through no fault of their own” and who have served in the military or received a college degree.

Asked about whether he could support a plan that does not include a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented people currently living in the country, Mr. Obama said he would not “prejudge what gets to my desk.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that a path to citizenship would be key for winning Democratic support.

Other proponents of comprehensive reform said they were willing to give House Republicans room to work, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the Senate’s “Gang of Eight.”

“While these standards are certainly not everything we would agree with, they leave a real possibility that Democrats and Republicans, in both the House and Senate, can in some way come together and pass immigration reform that both sides can accept. It is a long, hard road but the door is open,” Schumer said in a statement.

Asked about the House GOP’s immigration “principles,” McCain described them as “fine” and added that “I will continue to think they’re fine until they work their way through it, and I will support everything they’re doing and certainly will not take shots from the sidelines.”

The question now becomes: How soon do the principles outlined Thursday turn into actual legislation? With Republican incumbents wary of potential primary challenges from the right heading into this year’s midterm elections, those hoping for movement sooner rather than later could have their patience put to the test.

A note to our readers: Starting next week the Morning Line will be published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The reduced schedule is only temporary, and we expect to be back up to five days a week soon.

LINE ITEMS

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew met with Senate Democrats Thursday to discuss the looming deadline to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. Lew told the lawmakers that the White House is “not paying ransom” in order to raise the borrowing limit.

Senate Democrats are pushing to vote on raising the federal minimum wage in early March.

Veteran Rep. Henry Waxman, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee who helped pass the Affordable Care Act and a leading proponent of legislation to address climate change, announced Thursday that he would retire at the end of his current term. “At the end of this year, I would have been in Congress for 40 years,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “If there is a time for me to move on to another chapter in my life, I think this is the time to do it.”

Women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke is “strongly considering” a run for Waxman’s seat. Fluke was in the national spotlight in 2012 during the controversial debate over the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate.

According to the latest WMUR Granite Poll, New Hampshire Democrats would overwhelmingly favor Hillary Clinton in a 2016 primary. There’s no apparent GOP frontrunner, but if the election were held today, likely GOP primary voters would support Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., followed closely by Sen. Kelly Ayotte. The poll notes that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s support has waned.

Yahoo’s Olivier Knox reports former President George W. Bush doesn’t plan to campaign much in 2014, but he might write a few checks, like the one for $5,000 he gave Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Mr. Obama and Bill Clinton are expected to address Senate Democrats during their retreat at the Washington Nationals stadium next week.

New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu plays up his endorsement from Mr. Obama for his reelection campaign while his sister, U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, who is also running for reelection in Louisiana, keeps her distance.

The Republican Governors Association outraised the Democratic Governors Association last year by $22.3 million.

Christie’s office has hired a defense attorney at a 40 percent discount — $650 an hour — to help produce documents for the U.S. Attorney’s investigation, a sign that the governor’s office may have received subpoenas from federal prosecutors looking into whether a crime was committed.

New Hampshire Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan finally has a GOP challenger. Former chair of the state Republican Liberty Caucus and state director of Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign Andrew Hemingway announced his candidacy Thursday night.

To the west, the Massachusetts GOP is charging potential gubernatorial candidates $25,000 to speak at their upcoming convention.

Women overall at the White House make 91 cents for every dollar men earn, when calculated with the same formula used to generate the 77-cent figure Mr. Obama cited in his State of the Union address. The White House contends that women and men in the same job earn the same salary.

Wyoming was the most conservative state in 2013 (as measured by the percentage of conservatives) and the District of Columbia was the most liberal area, according to a Gallup poll released Friday. “Overall,” Gallup notes, “Americans were much more likely to self-identify as conservative than as liberals last year, although that gap shrank from previous years.”

In an interview with CSPAN for its “First Ladies” series, former first lady Laura Bush said first ladies should not receive a salary because the job already has “plenty of perks.” She also offered advice to the nation’s first gentlemen “whenever that happens”: “Stand back and be quiet.”

NEWSHOUR ROUNDUP

As Mr. Obama hit the road to tout his economic agenda and the House GOP embarked on their annual retreat, Gwen Ifill got three perspectives on this year’s political realities from the Washington Post’s Michael Gerson, Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress and Andrew Rudalevige of Bowdoin College.

615226151561515House GOP recasts agenda as White House alternativeWhile President Obama pushed his economic agenda on the road, House Republicans met to discuss their way forward on major issues, including immigration. Gwen Ifill gets views on the year’s political outlook from Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson, Neera Tanden of the Center for American Progress and Andrew Rudalevige from Bowdoin College.2014-01-30 19:00:00disabled2365167756A0yr_AqdVOM

Margaret Warner continued her report on German outrage over U.S. surveillance, speaking with German Coordinator for Transatlantic Cooperation Philipp Missfelder. The German official told the NewsHour that NSA surveillance is “exactly what people would have expected in the Bush era,” but Germans were not expecting such surveillance from Mr. Obama.

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Jeffrey Brown reports on the lingering health concerns of the West Viriginia chemical spill and spoke with Ashton Marra of West Virginia Public Broadcasting about the state senate’s legislative response.

615356151761517State officials react to West Virginia chemical spillAshton Marra of West Virginia Public Broadcasting joins Jeffrey Brown to discuss the latest concerns for West Virginians affected by a chemical leak into the Elk River, including whether there could be any hazardous effects from an additional chemical that may have gotten into the water.2014-01-30 07:00 pmdisabledC1FVpdZdxKI

Special correspondent Katie Campbell reported from Seattle on how researchers and citizen scientists are investigating the mysterious death of Pacific starfish.

615296152061520Why are starfish dying off the Pacific Coast?Up and down the Pacific Coast, starfish are dying by the tens of thousands and no one knows why. Special correspondent Katie Campbell reports from Seattle on how researchers and citizen scientists are investigating the spread of the mysterious and distressing syndrome.2014-01-30 19:00:00disabled2_I_B6U0GtI

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